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Muskingum at Baldwin Wallace, Lake Erie at Saginaw Valley: Local Division II, III college football gameday

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Baldwin Wallace's Kevin Krakora runs back a first-quarter interception against John Carroll last week. It was among the few defensive highlights for the Yellow Jackets in a 27-7 defeat.
(Thomas Ondrey, The Plain Dealer)

Outlook: Both teams are licking their wounds this week. BW lost at home last week to rival John Carroll, 27-7, and fell out of the national poll. Muskingum fell at home to No. 1 Mount Union, 37-0. BW is looking for someone to take over in its backfield between quarterbacks Michael Slack, Kyle Ohradzansky, running backs Nolan Sordyl and Issac Reed III. BW has been hampered by penalties and other mistakes, which led to a 20-0 deficit against JCU.

No. 2 Linfield (Ore.) at Case Western Reserve

When: Saturday, noon.

Records: CWRU 1-2, Linfield (2-0)

Notable: Linfield is ranked No. 2 in the d3football.com national poll and features the nation's top offense, averaging 653 yards and 61.5 points per game. Linfield quarterback Josh Yoder accounts for an average of 390 total yards per game, which is third in the nation. CWRU, which has its homecoming, is coming off a last-second, 36-33 loss at Frosburg State. The Spartans feature a ground game that gained 294 yards last week – the highest total for the program since 2001. Junior RB Ricky Hanzlik rushed for a career-high 105 yards. Defensively, sophomore LB Everett Dishong has 29 tackles.

Wooster at Hiram

When: Saturday, 1 p.m.

Records: Wooster 1-1, 1-0 NCAC; Hiram 2-1, 1-1 NCAC

Outlook: Hiram is coming off its first shutout in 160 games, a streak that dated back to 2005 and ended with a 20-0 victory against Allegheny, which had 174 yards offense. With quarterback Rob Partridge out with a broken foot, Hiram relied on senior running back Caleb Jones, who rushed for 196 yards. Wooster is led by Harvey grad Richard Barnes at quarterback. He's the NCAC offensive player of the week following a 336-yard, four-touchdown game against Oberlin. The game is Hiram's homecoming.

Otterbein at John Carroll

When: Saturday, 7 p.m.

Records: Otterbein 1-1,1-0 OAC; John Carroll 2-0, 1-0 OAC

Outlook: John Carroll's defense is ranked No. 1 in Division III, allowing 148.5 yards per game, and its quarterback, Mark Myers, is ranked sixth in total offense with 375 yards per game. The major development for JCU in a 27-7 win at Baldwin Wallace last week was the play of its offensive line and tailback DaQuan Grobsmith, who rushed for 115 yards and a TD. Versatile senior Randy Greenwood can make big plays on both sides of the ball. Otterbein opened with a 28-0 loss to 18th-ranked St. John Fisher and struggled early last week, but a 16-0 run in the second quarter propelled it to a 30-14 win over Wilmington. Otterbein allowed 243 yards and a touchdown passing, but had two interceptions.

Lake Erie College at Saginaw Valley State

When: Saturday, 7 p.m.

Records: LEC 1-2, 1-1 GLIAC, SVSU 2-1, 2-0 GLIAC

Radio: WFUN AM/970

Outlook: Coming off a 35-17 win against Wayne State in which its defense made significant improvement, holding WSU to 252 yards and forcing four turnovers. LEC running back Anthony Bilal had his fourth straight career 100-yard game with 38 yards and two touchdowns, and leads the NCAA in Division II with nine TDs. After a season-opening loss, SVSU has won two straight, including a 35-34 road win at Findlay in week two.

Outlook: Charleston is allowing 30 points per game, and NDC can move the ball behind quarterback Ray Russ. He completed 32 passes to six different receivers and passed for 308 yards and four TDs in a 34-25 win against West Virginia Wesleyan. Running back Jack Foy caught 15 passes for 113 yards and and two TDs, while RB Pedro Powell gained 173 yards on 33 carries.

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